Mulberry / Spring 2013 RTW

Search a show by:

Is Mulberry trading up and calming down? Even though guests at the London show were greeted with the usual cheeky English reception—this time, it was cheery massed garden gnomes in the foyer of the Claridge’s ballroom—something altogether more refined could be detected in the product on the runway. The VIP lineup of Kate Moss, Lana Del Rey, Rebecca Hall, Alexa Chung, Gillian Anderson, and British Olympic gold heptathlon winner Jessica Ennis in the front row was admittedly a bit of a distraction at first—it wasn’t easy to drag your eyes away. Before the proceedings, Del Rey carefully picked up the latest manifestation of the Del Rey bag named after her, placed it on her knees, and kept it there throughout the show. Aha! A hint there, surely, and lo and behold, it wasn’t long before the Del Rey appeared as part of a total navy and white print outfit—an oversize biker jacket over a long silk skirt. The matching prints, vaguely baroque, were, according to program notes, composed of a pattern of geckos.

But what was really interesting was the sea change in the look of the bag, and—though the prints were pretty—the plainer, more palpably luxurious versions, beautifully cut from white, pinky-nude, or beige calf. One of them, a tote, comes with a zip-off envelope on the side just the right size to accommodate an iPad, or simply function as a chic clutch. With branding and brassware at a minimum, it looked like an instantly desirable case of form following function—a quality that all but went missing in the craze for novelty that has dominated the past few years of handbag history.

It seems a significant tweak. Mulberry is well known for its girly bags and hardware details, but this seemed to be a distinct shift toward the restrained and precious—bags more suggestive of a woman with an expensive sports car driving to Monte Carlo than a girl with a beat-up Mini on her way to Glasto. The clue to why this might be was sitting opposite the celebrities. Mulberry’s new CEO, Bruno Guillon, was formerly with Hermès, a rare French Anglophile intent on encouraging British homegrown quality at an international standard. “What’s important is the materials, and the craftsmanship—and the level in this country is quite high. People all over the world like to buy things made in the U.K. We’re the biggest bag manufacturer in Britain,” he said, beaming. “And we’ll be opening a second factory not far from the original Mulberry one in Somerset.” That’s three hundred more jobs in fashion—and more great news for London Fashion Week as it ends on a high.